An Caighdéan Oifigiúil: Chapter 2: Nouns (pp. 19-36)

This is Chapter 2 of the unofficial translation of An Caighdeán Oifigiúil based off of the 2017 version. You can find all other chapters here.

2.1 General

2.1.1 Declensions

Nouns are split into five declensions, according to their genitive form, as shown in Table 2E.

2.1.2 Cases

(a) Nominative and Accusative

The forms for these two cases is the same now, in both singular and plural, and they both come under the title ‘Nominative’ in the declension of nouns.

(b) Dative

The dative form is also the same as the nominative, in both singular and plural (but see 2.3.3), and so this case also comes under the title ‘Nominative’.

(c) Genitive

The genitive forms in the various declensions are given in the tables in this chapter, as well as the individual descriptions of the declensions.

(d) Vocative

In the vocative case, the vocative particle a is placed before the noun and the intial consonant of the following word is lenited. The vocative and nominative forms are the same, apart from in the First Declension, and the vocative form does not need to be explained separately outside of that declension (see 2.2.3 and 2.2.4(c)).

2.1.3 Plurals

It is possible to split nouns into two main classes: those with ‘strong’ plurals, and those with ‘weak’ plurals. These two classes are explained below:

(a) Strong plurals

A noun has a strong plural if the plural forms are identical in all cases.

(b) Weak plurals

A noun has a weak plural if its genitive plural is different to the plural in other cases. In this class, we have:

(i) Nouns that end in a broad consonant that becomes slender in the nominative plural and genitive singular, e.g. fear, tá na fir ag teacht, hata an fhir; eitleán, feictear na heitleáin sa spéir, athraíodh roth an eitleáin. These nouns are only in the First Declension. An example is given in the table below:

(ii) Nouns that add an -a in the nominative plural without shortening or changing vowel(s), nor undergoing broadening of a consonant, to the nominative singular – they lose their final -a in the genitive plural. These nouns are mostly in the Second Declension, e.g. géag crainn, do ghéaga a shíneadh, laige na ngéag. An example is given in the table below.

Note that there are some nouns that follow the same pattern in the First Declension, e.g. úll, itheadh na húlla, blas na n-úll; in the Third Declension, e.g. tréad caorach, tréada is comhaltas, seoladh na dtréad; and in the Fourth Declension, e.g. gach aon neach, na neacha daonna, teacht na neach neamhshaolta.

(iii) A handful of nouns in the Second Declension, e.g. súil, leath na súile uirthi, radharc na súl; a handful in the Third Declension, e.g. mionn, na mionnaí marbha, dar bhrí na mionn; a handful in the Fourth Declension, e.g. bó, tá na ba sa gharraí, cró na mbó; a handful in the Fifth declension, e.g. caora, tá na caoirigh ann, líon na gcaorach; and the odd irregular noun, e.g. bean, tá na mná ag teacht, hataí na mban that have a distinct form in the genitive plural. Examples are given in the table below:

2.1.4 Slenderisation

Slenderisation is the process of making a broad consonant slender. An -i- is placed before the final consonant to indicate this slenderisation, e.g. cnoc, cnoic. The same ‘slendering’ occurs in the case of a final consonant with ae in front, e.g. aer, aeir. Certain vowels usually change when a subsequent consonant becomes slender:
(a) -ea- and -io- become -i-, e.g. ceann, cinn; fionn, finn (but in certain monosyllabic nouns, ea- becomesei-, e.g. each, eich);
(b) -éa- and -ia- become -éi-, e.g. béal, béil; iasc, éisc;
(c) -ío- becomes -í-, e.g. síol, síl;
(d) in polysyllabic nouns, -ach becomes -aigh, -each becomes -igh, -íoch becomes -ígh, e.g. bithiúnach, bithiúnaigh; cléireach, cléirigh, gaiscíoch, gaiscígh. These changes also apply to the following monosyllabic nouns that are sometimes written as disyllabic words, e.g. dúch, dúigh; fiach, fiaigh; and with the odd other monosyllabic noun, e.g. fraoch, fraoigh.

2.1.5 Broadening

Broadening is the process of making a slender consonant broad. The -i- before a final consonant is dropped to broaden it, e.g. athair, athar; droim, droma. Certain vowels usually change as follows when a subsequent consonant becomes broad:
(a) -ei- and -i- become -ea-, e.g. greim, greama; mil, meala;
(b) -éi- becomes -éa-, e.g. úinéir, úinéara;
(c) -oi- and -ui- become -o-, e.g. fuil, fola; toil, tola;

2.1.6 Syncope

Syncope is the process of dropping a short, unstressed vowel from a word when it is inflected, e.g. cathair, cathrach; obair, oibre.

2.1.7 Compound words

Compound words are created when two or more words are linked together, e.g. bunscoil; príomhoifigeach; ríomheolaíocht. The second word in a compound word is lenited, e.g. deargbhuile; rósghairdín, except when there are two of d,n,t,l,s next to each other, e.g. antráth; catsúil. A hyphen is used in a compound word:
(a) between two vowels, e.g. fo-aicme; mí-ádh; mí-iompar; ró-olc;
(b) between two of the same consonant, e.g. droch-chaint; gearr-rás; gnáth-thuarastal;
(c) between two prefixes, e.g. comh-cheolfhoireann; mór-cheoldráma; sin-seanathair;
(d) in cases where the compound word is in danger of being unrecognisable without a hyphen, for example between the prefixes do-,fo-,so- and words beginning with bha-, bhla-, bhra-, dha-, gha-, ghla-, ghra-, mha-, e.g. do-ghlanta; fo-bhaile; so-mharaithe.
(e) in specific titles with capital letters, e.g. an Ard-Chúirt; an tArd-Aighne; an Príomh-Aire; an Príomh-Bhreitheamh;
(f) after an- (the emphatic prefix) and after dea-, e.g. an-aimsir, dea-bhéas. Note that the second word is not lenited in a compound word after an- when it is followed by d, t or s, e.g. an-duine is ea é; an-drochaimsir (see 10.2.12).
Note that:

• Two hyphens are put in a word where necessary for the purpose of clarity, e.g. an-dea-aimsir; an-droch-chaint; iar-nua-aimseartha; an Leas-Phríomh-Aire.
• It is not necessary to put a hyphen in a word in administrative terms that contain more than one prefix, if the meaning of the term is clear without it, e.g. comhfhochoiste; roghfhochoiste.
• Note, if iar precedes a title that starts with a capital letter, that it is not necessary to put a hyphen between iar and the title, e.g. an t-iarArd-Reachtaire Cuntas agus Ciste.

2.1.8 Brief illustration of the declensions

Note: As mentioned in 2.1.2, the nominative, accusative and dative forms are identical and are listed under ‘nominative’.

2.2 The First Declension

2.2.1 The Singular

Pertaining to this group are most masculine nouns that end in a broad consonant in the nominative singular. All nouns in the first declension are masculine.

2.2.2 The Genitive Singular

1. In the genitive singular, the final consonant becomes slender, e.g. bord, boird; nuachtán, nuachtáin.
2. The changes listed in 2.1.4 also apply to this slenderisation, but -ia- does not change to -éi- in these nouns: Brian, Briain; cliant, cliaint; fiar, fiair; giar, giair; rian, riain; srian, sriain; and trian, triain.
3. Mac becomes mic in the genitive singular and nominative plural.
4. In the genitive singular, -ea- becomes -i-, e.g. breac, bric; cuireadh, cuiridh; leiceann, leicinn; except in the case of certain monosyllabic nouns, e.g. each, eich.

2.2.3 The Vocative Singular

1. The vocative singular form is usually the same as the genitive singular, e.g. a Chorcaígh, a mhic, a Sheáin.
2. However, inflection in the vocative singular is uncommon:
   1. for collective nouns, e.g. a chomhthionól; a phobal;
   2. for nouns that are used with a metaphorical meaning or as a pet name, e.g. a cheann cipín; a chumann; a ghrá geal; a rós geal; a rún; a stór;
   3. for nouns that have a definite genitive following them, e.g. a Chléireach na Dála; a fhear an tí; a scáthán an chirt; a shólás na ndobrónach;
   4. for multi-word titles of offices, e.g. a Cheann Comhairle; a Oifigeach Ealaíon; a Cheann Scoile.

2.2.4 The Plural

There are both weak and strong plurals in this declension. The nouns whose endings undergo slenderisation are the weak plurals, e.g. amhrán, amhráin; or those that add an -a without any other changes, e.g. nod, noda; úll, úlla; in the nominative plural. The other nouns are strong plurals.
Note that the pattern of the First Declension is seen in the ‘genitive singular’ column in the following tables, that is, their final consonant becomes slender and -(e)ach becomes -(a)igh.

(a) Strong plurals

(b) Weak plurals

(c) The Vocative Plural

The vocative plural form is the same as the nominative plural, except for weak plurals. To form the vocative plural for these nouns, an -a is usually added to the nominative singular, e.g. Corcaíoch, a Chorcaíocha; fear, a fheara; Gael, a Ghaela.

2.3 The Second Declension

2.3.1 The Singular

The nouns of this declension end in a consonant, broad or slender, in the nominative singular. They are feminine, except for im and sliabh.

2.3.2 The Genitive Singular

1. The noun takes an -a, and if it ends in a broad consonant then this becomes slender, e.g. bróg, bróige; coill, coille; earr, eirre; except for polysyllabic nouns that end in -(e)ach.
2. If a polysllabic noun ends in -(e)ach, this becomes -(a)í, e.g. scornach, scornaí; cailleach, caillí
3. The changes listed in 2.1.4 apply to this slenderisation, but the following take precedence:
   1. -ea- becomes -ei-, e.g. beach, beiche (-ea- becomes -i- in monosyllabic nouns, e.g. beann, binne; cearc, circe; and in the unstressed syllable of polysyllabic nouns, e.g. bruinneall, bruinnille; ficheall, fichille); and
   2. -ia- becomes -i- in the word scian, scine.

2.3.3 The Dative Singular

There are two forms of the dative singular for nouns ending in a broad consonant:

1. the same as the nominative singular;
2. a distinct archaic form that is only used in long-established phrases, eg. cur i gcéill; cur dá chois; airgead ar láimh; bolg le gréin; imithe le gealaigh; cur de láimh; faoi bhois an chait; bíonn a chroí ar a bhois i gcónaí aige; ar éill; etc.

2.3.4 The Plural

There are both weak and strong plurals in this declension.
Note that the pattern of the Second Declension can be seen in the ‘genitive singular’ column of the following tables; that is, the genitive singular ends in -e and a final broad consonant becomes slender, and in polysllabic nouns that end in -(e)ach, this becomes -(a)í.

(a) Strong plurals

(b) Weak plurals

2.4 The Third Declension

2.4.1 The Singular

1. It is in this declension that polysyllabic nouns ending in -áil, -aíl, -cht, -éir, -eoir, -irt, -óir, -úil, -úint, -úir belong (except for country names that are in the Second Declension, e.g. an Ailgéir, an Bhrasaíl, an Iodáil).
2. Also belonging to this declension are some nouns that end in a consonant, broad or slender, in the nominative singular. For these nouns, the genitive singular ends in -a and the final consonant is broadened where appropriate, e.g. buachaill, buachalla; gleann, gleanna (see 2.1.5).

2.4.2 The Genitive Singular

1. As explained in (b) above, the genitive singular ends in -a.
2. Usually, -io- becomes -ea- in the genitive for monosyllabic nouns, e.g. crios, creasa; lios, leasa; apart from cion (with the meaning ‘offence’/’transgression’) which becomes ciona.
3. Nouns ending in -int drop their final -t in the genitive singular, e.g. oiliúint, oiliúna (apart from the excpetions cogaint, coganta; cosaint, cosanta; seachaint, seachanta). Nouns ending in -irt change this -t into -th, e.g. imirt, imeartha.

2.4.3 The Plural

There are both weak and strong plurals in this declension.
Note that the pattern of the Third Declension can be seen in the ‘genitive singular’ column of the following tables, that is, that the genitive singular ends in -a and the final consonant broadens if it is slender.

(a) Strong plurals

(b) Weak plurals

2.5 The Fourth Declension

2.5.1 The Singular

1. It is in this declension that masculine nouns ending in -ín, diminutives that end in -ín, most nouns ending in a vowel, and a small measure of other nouns belong.
2. Names of occupations that end in -(a)í or -aire are also masculine, e.g. ceannaí, cócaire.
3. Abstract nouns that end in -e and are formed from adjectives are feminine, e.g. airde, gile, saoirse.

2.5.2 The Genitive Singular

1. The nouns in this declension do not undergo any change of form in the genitive plural.
2. The diminutive -ín is usually feminine, if the root word is a common feminine word. There are exceptions, e.g. paidir (fem.), paidrín (masc.); toit (fem.), toitín (masc.). However, all diminutives are declined as masculine nouns in the genitive and vocative singular, e.g. an bheainín bheag, teach an bheainín bhig, a bheainín bhig.
3. There are some nouns in this declension that have no plural, e.g. cruach (with the meaning ‘metal’), dóthain, gorta, lucht (with the meaning ‘people’), oiread, tobac.

2.5.3 The Plural

Most of the nouns in this declension are weak plurals.
Note that the pattern of the Fourth Declension can be seen in the ‘singular’ column of the following table, that is, that the genitive singular and nominitive singular forms are the same.

(a) Strong plurals

Note: Also belonging to this declension are the following nouns for which it is not natural to have a plural form: cruach (with the meaning ‘metal’), dóthain, gorta, iomad, lucht (with the meaning ‘people’), oiread, tobac; as well as certain personal names, e.g. Cáit, Liam, Pilib, Siobhán, Uileag.

2.6 The Fifth Declension

2.6.1 The Singular

1. Most of the nouns in this declension are feminine.
2. Also belonging to this declension are some nouns that end in a slender consonant or a vowel in the nominative singular and in a broad consonant (-ch, -d, -(n)n, -r) in the genitive singular.

2.6.2 The Plural

Most of the nouns in this declension are strong plurals.
Note that the pattern of the Fifth Declension can be seen in the ‘genitive singular’ column in the table below, that is, the genitive singular ends in the broad consonants -ch, -d, -(n)n, -r (apart from a handful of exceptions, e.g. Nollaig, Nollag).

(a) Strong plurals

2.7 Irregular Nouns

The following nouns do not follow any one of the declensions:

Note: The fosillised form of the word lá is preserved in the established phrase ar athló, e.g. Tá an Dáil ar athló.